Missing for 3 years, pit bull returns from Florida to H.B.

Eric Hough, 30, says, "I never gave up on finding Smoke. I'd have heartache when I thought about him. My neighbors were tired of me talking about him." The 7-year-old pit bull was reunited with his owner Sunday after being missing for three years. Hough's art graces the walls of his Huntington Beach home.CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

How Smoke got home

Some of the groups and people that made it happen:

Kindred Hearts Transport Connection: The nonprofit that mobilized drivers to participate in Smoke's journey focuses on getting animals from point A to point B in order to adopt and foster animals to safety. This relay involved over a dozen drivers. Many legs of the trip were an hour, though the Kindred Hearts Facebook thread organizing Smoke's trip shows the longest leg with the same driver was from Mississippi to Oklahoma at 9 hours and 30 minutes. Information: kindredheartstransportconnection.org

Missing Pet Partnership: Another nonprofit, this group trains pet detectives with the goal of reuniting lost animals with their owners. Volunteer pet detective Ryan Gamache put the pieces together to find Eric Hough, even though his contact information on Smoke's microchip was outdated. Gamache even drove two legs of the journey to get Smoke back to Huntington Beach. Information: missingpetpartnership.org

Eric Hough had reported his blue-gray dog stolen to the police when he lived in Los Angeles in 2010. But until the end of June this year, he heard nothing about where his animal might have gone. When Ryan Gamache – a Seattle resident who works in telecommunications but volunteers as a pet detective with Missing Pet Partnership – contacted Hough through Facebook to tell him his animal had been found in a Florida shelter, the two began to plan a way to get Smoke back west.

“I went into a state of shock,” said Hough, a professional BMX rider.

Hough was prepared to somehow come up with the money to make an expensive last-minute flight to Florida and drive back to California with Smoke. Before he could, though, a nonprofit called Kindred Hearts Transport Connection was already planning a way to help Hough get his pet back without the major expense, which was even higher because he'd have to pay for heartworm medication, too.

Kindred Hearts organized a volunteer-run cross-country trip for Smoke in days. With 30 legs and over a dozen volunteers, the pit bull relay spanned the entire Fourth of July weekend from Florida to California. Hough estimates the nonprofit saved him about $3,000 by organizing the trip.

Smoke arrived in Huntington Beach on Sunday night, but it wasn't until the camera flashes from media subsided that Hough was able to process his pet's return.

“When everyone left, we had a big dog pile with my other dog,” said Hough, who also owns a Chihuahua mix named Molly. “And that's when it really hit me how happy I was to have him back. I started to be so emotional … crying for how happy I was, crying for missing him for so long.”

Gamache believes 7-year-old Smoke was saved shortly before euthanasia would have been a real possibility.

“He's older, with heartworm, and he's a pit bull,” said Gamache. “That's three strikes against him.”

Smoke's microchip made it possible to track Hough down, but not without much confusion. The chip's information was outdated, and it took Gamache trying many wrong phone numbers before reaching the right man.

Eventually, Gamache was able to call the shelter and tell them he had found the original owner, and that he would be returned to California soon. Just 24 hours after Kindred Hearts put out the call for drivers to help transport the dog, over half of the necessary volunteer slots were filled.

Heather McNally, who works as a nurse but volunteers as a transportation coordinator with Kindred Hearts, was elated the journey lasted only four days instead of the projected two weeks.

“I worry about the dog's psyche,” said McNally. “You take a dog who's been all these different places and doesn't know what's going on … I can't imagine what's going on in the dog's mind.”

Photos of Smoke's trip, which were posted daily on a Facebook page created specifically for his journey called “Bring Smoke Home,” show a sleepy pit bull wearing a navy blue bandana asleep in Baton Rouge, La., one day and wide awake in the back of a car near Oklahoma City the next.

As for the future, Hough doesn't think it will be easy to find out what happened to Smoke or how he ended up in Florida. But he does want to start a fundraiser making T-shirts that read, “I Support Pet Rescue,” and give the proceeds to Kindred Hearts, as a way of saying thank you.

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Eric Hough, 30, says, "I never gave up on finding Smoke. I'd have heartache when I thought about him. My neighbors were tired of me talking about him." The 7-year-old pit bull was reunited with his owner Sunday after being missing for three years. Hough's art graces the walls of his Huntington Beach home. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Smoke, 7, is back in the "nest" again after being missing for three years. Owner Eric Hough, 30, built "the nest" to make the gray-blue pit bull feel safe. Hough, a professional BMX bike rider, even slept with Smoke on his first night home. After the frenzy of the day and all the media attention, Hough finally wept lying next to his beloved, snoring dog. "I was happy to have him back and realized how much I missed him," Hough says. Smoke was returned home being found in a Florida shelter. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Smoke, a 65-pound, gray-blue pit bull, is reunited with his owner Eric Hough, 30, of Huntington Beach. Hough said he is grateful to Missing Pet Partnership. The organization linked Smoke in the Florida shelter to Hough. The pro BMX bike rider is also thankful to Kindred Hearts Transport Connection in Florida who transported the dog from Florida to California. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Smoke, 7, is back at his Huntington Beach home after being missing for three years. "He won't leave my side," owner Eric Hough, 30, says. The pit bull was about to be killed in a Florida shelter when the group Missing Pet Partnership intervened. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Smoke's time had run out in a Florida shelter. He was scheduled to be killed, according to owner Eric Hough, 30, of Huntington Beach, but the group Missing Pet Partnership intervened. Since Hough believes the pit bull was stolen three years ago, the organization told the shelter the dog was at the center of a criminal investigation delaying his death. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Eric Hough, 30, of Huntington Beach, points to message in green marker to Kindred Hearts Transport Connection in Florida, the group that transported the dog from Florida to California. Ryan Gamache, who volunteers with Missing Pet Partnership, and others signed the wall of Hough's home. Smoke, a 65-pound, gray-blue pit bull, reunited with his owner Hough, 10 pounds lighter, three years later. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
When owner Eric Hough, 30, of Huntington Beach, got news that his 7-year-old pit bull, Smoke, was found after being missing for three years, the artist/pro BMX rider wrote this on the wall of his home. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Fortunately Smoke had an implanted microchip, which listed him as belonging toEric Hough. But the contact information was outdated. Volunteer Ryan Gamache with Missing Pet Partnership eventually reached Hough through Facebook. Smoke's medical history through a Florida shelter, pictured. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Smoke has been showered with treats from neighbors, Kindred Hearts Transport Connection and Missing Pet Partnership. The pit bull has eaten so much that he's full, owner Eric Hough, 30, of Huntington Beach notes. CINDY YAMANAKA, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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